“It wasn't a very fair fight”

However, the four-time world champion said he did not enjoy the race in Melbourne. According to him, almost all of his early overtakes were merely protocol, as he was fighting much slower cars and the battle was not a fair one.

Max Verstappen, after MP of Australia: “For me it was just a traffic release”

“No, I wasn't happy. Overtaking was fun, but I was fighting cars that were two seconds slower. For me it was just a traffic release. It sounds weird, but that's how I see it.

It wasn't a very fair fight so I tried to make my way through the middle of the peloton as cleanly as possible and get into the rhythm. But I had a very big degradation. We had significant tire wear, which compromised our race a lot.

We thought the hard tires would be better for us, but unfortunately they didn't work today. Mercedes will be fast everywhere, with McLaren I don't know how it will be.

During the tests in Bahrain they were faster, it's hard to say. We will analyze each circuit separately. In the end, it doesn't matter if we are third or fourth, our goal is the top.

We try to work calmly. I hope we can reduce the gap during the season, because at the moment it is quite big”, said Max Verstappen, according to sportal.bg.

MP Ranking of Australia

1. George Russell

2. Kimi Antonelli

3. Charles Leclerc

4. Lewis Hamilton

5. Landon Norris

6. Max Verstappen

7. Oliver Bearman

8. Arvid Lindblad

9. Gabriel Bortoleto

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Esteban Ocon

12. Alexander Albon

13. Liam Lawson

14. Franco Colapinto

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Sergio Perez

17. Lance Stroll

18. Fernando Alonso – abandoned

19. Valtteri Bottas – abandonment

20. Isack Hadjar – dropout

21. Oscar Piastri – did not start

22. Nico Hulkenberg – did not start

Overall ranking of pilots

1. George Russell – 25 points

2. Kimi Antonelli – 18

3. Charles Leclerc – 15

4. Lewis Hamilton – 12

5. Landon Norris – 10 points

6. Max Verstappen – 8 points

7. Oliver Bearman – 6 points

8. Arvid Lindblad – 4 points

9. Gabriel Bortoleto – 2 points

10. Pierre Gasly – 1 point

11. Esteban Ocon – 0 points

12. Alexander Albon – 0 points

13. Liam Lawson – 0 points

14. Franco Colapinto – 0 points

15. Carlos Sainz – 0 points

16. Sergio Perez – 0 points

17. Isack Hadjar – 0 points

18. Oscar Piastri – 0 points

19. Nico Hulkenberg – 0 points

20. Fernando Alonso – 0 points

21. Valtteri Bottas – 0 points

22. Lance Stroll – 0 points

General ranking of builders

1. Mercedes – 43 points

2. Ferrari – 27 points

3. McLaren – 10 points

4. Red Bull – 8 points

5. Racing Bulls – 6 points

6. Audi – 4 points

7. Alpine – 2 points

8. Williams – 1 point

9. Cadillac – 0 points

10. Aston Martin – 0 points